When doing a fishless cycle, when exactly do you do a water change?
Yes, I wouldn't buy a full tank of fish right away though. IMHO maybe 1/2 this week than add more each week (testing water in between) till full. Why subject them to ammonia or nitrites is your biological bacteria can't take it. You would probably be OK with all one shot but I'm overly cautious.
No test yesterday but the aquarium was dosed with ammonia at about 7:00pm. A nitrite test at 11:00am this morning shows 0 nitrites.
Is dosing back to 4ppm just once a day sufficient until I'm able to go buy a full stock of fish?
I am almost in the same stage as you. But I am seeing a pH drop to almost 6, 24 hours after topping up ammonia to 4ppm. Also I do see 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite with high nitrate. Whats your pH?
My pH out of the tap is 8.2-8.4. I just tested all 4 parameters at 10am this morning after dosing back to 4ppm at 6pm last evening.
Results are:
pH - 8.0 steady from the last time I checked it on May 29th
ammonia - 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate -80
Planning on a 50-75% water change this afternoon and adding fish.
Stocking plan is:
Pair of dwarf gourami
7 cherry barb
7 glow light or lemon tetra
6 sand's, bandit, or panda cory
Looks great I have to figure out a way to increase my pH. And since my pH is dropping to 6, I am seeing that the last traces of ammonia are staying and the ppm is not going to 0, probably because the bacteria is getting dormant at that acidic pH.
What substrate are you using?
My pH out of the tap is 8.2-8.4. I just tested all 4 parameters at 10am this morning after dosing back to 4ppm at 6pm last evening.
Results are:
pH - 8.0 steady from the last time I checked it on May 29th
ammonia - 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate -80
Planning on a 50-75% water change this afternoon and adding fish.
Stocking plan is:
Pair of dwarf gourami
7 cherry barb
7 glow light or lemon tetra
6 sand's, bandit, or panda cory